EDITORIAL
Editorial Board Philippa Aslet
Senior Urology Nurse Specialist Department of Urology, Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital BAUN President
Bruce Turner
Uro-oncology Nurse Practitioner, Homerton University Hospital and Bart’s Health BAUN Council Member
Pauline Bagnall
Uro-oncology nurse Specialist, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust BAUN Council member
Theresa Neale
Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist Urology Department, Warwick Hospital Group Chair
Alison Lowndes
Urology Cancer Nurse Specialist, Department of Urology, Dorset County Hospital
Editor Julie Smith Deputy Editor Aysha Mendes Da Mata Subeditors Daniel Davies, Vicqui Stuart Jones Associate Publishers Chloe Benson Julie Smith Publisher Anthony Kerr If you would like to submit an article for publication in this supplement please contact Julie Smith on 020 7738 5454 or [email protected] MA Healthcare Ltd is part of the Mark Allen Group
www.markallengroup.com The British Journal of Nursing is published by MA Healthcare Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB Tel: 020 7738 5454 Editorial: 020 7501 6716 Sales: 020 7501 6726 Subscriptions: 0800 137201 Email: [email protected] Websites: www.britishjournalofnursing.com
© MA Healthcare Ltd, 2013. All rights reserved. No part of the British Journal of Nursing may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. Print: Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2YA Cover picture: istockphoto.com
The paper used within this publication has been sourced from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint.
Support staff to ensure excellent care provision
N
ursing is most effective when those involved are part of a team that share a common goal. This aspect of care has changed in recent years as specialities have merged on hospital wards. Previously, there were separate surgical and medical wards and even within the surgical speciality there would be wards with sub-areas of expertise, such as vascular, upper gastrointestinal tract, ear nose and throat, and urology surgery, to give only a few examples. This helped to encourage the aspect of team working as the collaboration was more confined and the knowledge required to care for these patients was concentrated to a specific area. Nowadays each surgical ward has patients belonging to a diverse variety of subspecialities and, on verbal reports from a number of trusts, urology patients seem to be the most ‘spread out’ of all these, which suggests that it is no longer a subspeciality but included within general surgery. However, patients are not just cared for by nursing staff, they have a multitude of professionals involved in their care during a stay in hospital and for this to be coordinated and safe there needs to be an ethos of teamwork, and the nursing team is ideally placed to perform this role. Around 50% of NHS staff say they work in teams but also say their teams do not have clear objectives, or don’t work closely together, or don’t meet regularly to review their performance (NHS Staff Survey, 2013). This is not surprising when applied to ward teams catering for so many specialities with a high turnover, in one area. Following on from the Francis report (2013) recommendations, the Government announced a 3-year Compassion in Practice strategy in spring 2013. This included the proposal that nurses should be recruited in line with the 6Cs (care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment). This should not be a new concept for nurses, but in hospital wards staff seem to be under so much pressure to get the job done quickly and efficiently that they report having little time to give the care and compassion they would like. Wouldn’t this be easier if they knew the speciality in more detail, i.e. a urology nurse looking after a urology patient? Competence in the diverse specialities may also be difficult to assess when nurses are dealing with such a range of patients, but competence in basic care should be an essential part of any nurse’s ability. Communication is one of the fundamental qualities for ensuring successful caring relationships and is vital for effective team working, with listening being a skill so often missed. Staff need to be supported to develop their self-awareness and how they impact on the team
British Journal of Nursing, 2013 (Urology Supplement), Vol 23, No 9
around them. They need to be given the courage to speak out if they feel care is not being given according to the principles above. A level of commitment is expected when caring for patients and is necessary when developing services to improve patient care and experience but nurses also need to be committed to take pride in themselves and what they do as even when working individually, every contribution to the patient pathway matters. Nursing staff therefore need to feel supported in their role as their job satisfaction is directly related to patient satisfaction (West and Dawson, 2013). Annual appraisals must be performed correctly to ensure high staff engagement. If a nurse is given clear, challenging objectives, knows his or her role and responsibilities within the team, and is encouraged to engage in decision-making, this can leave them feeling valued and respected by their manager and organisation as a whole. The focus must always be on the best care for the patient at all times, and a nurse who is able to look after patients belonging to one or two subspecialities such as urology and ear, nose and throat will know that his or her individual responsibilities along with the team values will be able to deliver care to a far higher standard. It is therefore essential that service managers invest time and money in their ward managers and team leaders to allow them to develop their teams effectively. This will improve the quality and outcomes of patient care. I will finish with the opening few lines from the 6Cs executive summary leaflet (NHS England, 2012) as it is a statement we need to remember every day when caring for our patients: ‘To be a nurse, a midwife or member of care staff is an extraordinary role. What we do every day has a deep importance. We are at the heart of how people in this country keep themselves independent, healthy and BJN well for longer.’ NHS England (2012) Our Culture of Compassionate Care. http://tinyurl. com/ok9gyge (accessed 30 April 2014) NHS England (2013) The NHS Constitution.The NHS belongs to us all. http://tinyurl.com/c9qmsac (accessed 28 April 2014) NHS staff survey (2013) www.nhsstaffsurveys.com (accessed 22 April 2014) Francis R (2013) Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. Executive Summary. http://tinyurl.com/bkgyem7 (accessed 18 April 2014) West M, Dawson J (2013) NHS Staff Management and Health Service Quality. Executive summary. http://tinyurl.com/olqo3fh (accessed 28 April 2014)
Susan Thompson
Specialist Urology Nurse Practitioner Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
S3
British Journal of Nursing. Downloaded from magonlinelibrary.com by 165.123.034.086 on December 1, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights reserved.
Editorial Board Philippa Aslet
Senior Urology Nurse Specialist Department of Urology, Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital BAUN President
Bruce Turner
Uro-oncology Nurse Practitioner, Homerton University Hospital and Bart’s Health BAUN Council Member
Pauline Bagnall
Uro-oncology nurse Specialist, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust BAUN Council member
Theresa Neale
Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist Urology Department, Warwick Hospital Group Chair
Alison Lowndes
Urology Cancer Nurse Specialist, Department of Urology, Dorset County Hospital
Editor Julie Smith Deputy Editor Aysha Mendes Da Mata Subeditors Daniel Davies, Vicqui Stuart Jones Associate Publishers Chloe Benson Julie Smith Publisher Anthony Kerr If you would like to submit an article for publication in this supplement please contact Julie Smith on 020 7738 5454 or [email protected] MA Healthcare Ltd is part of the Mark Allen Group
www.markallengroup.com The British Journal of Nursing is published by MA Healthcare Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB Tel: 020 7738 5454 Editorial: 020 7501 6716 Sales: 020 7501 6726 Subscriptions: 0800 137201 Email: [email protected] Websites: www.britishjournalofnursing.com
© MA Healthcare Ltd, 2013. All rights reserved. No part of the British Journal of Nursing may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. Print: Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2YA Cover picture: istockphoto.com
The paper used within this publication has been sourced from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint.
Support staff to ensure excellent care provision
N
ursing is most effective when those involved are part of a team that share a common goal. This aspect of care has changed in recent years as specialities have merged on hospital wards. Previously, there were separate surgical and medical wards and even within the surgical speciality there would be wards with sub-areas of expertise, such as vascular, upper gastrointestinal tract, ear nose and throat, and urology surgery, to give only a few examples. This helped to encourage the aspect of team working as the collaboration was more confined and the knowledge required to care for these patients was concentrated to a specific area. Nowadays each surgical ward has patients belonging to a diverse variety of subspecialities and, on verbal reports from a number of trusts, urology patients seem to be the most ‘spread out’ of all these, which suggests that it is no longer a subspeciality but included within general surgery. However, patients are not just cared for by nursing staff, they have a multitude of professionals involved in their care during a stay in hospital and for this to be coordinated and safe there needs to be an ethos of teamwork, and the nursing team is ideally placed to perform this role. Around 50% of NHS staff say they work in teams but also say their teams do not have clear objectives, or don’t work closely together, or don’t meet regularly to review their performance (NHS Staff Survey, 2013). This is not surprising when applied to ward teams catering for so many specialities with a high turnover, in one area. Following on from the Francis report (2013) recommendations, the Government announced a 3-year Compassion in Practice strategy in spring 2013. This included the proposal that nurses should be recruited in line with the 6Cs (care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment). This should not be a new concept for nurses, but in hospital wards staff seem to be under so much pressure to get the job done quickly and efficiently that they report having little time to give the care and compassion they would like. Wouldn’t this be easier if they knew the speciality in more detail, i.e. a urology nurse looking after a urology patient? Competence in the diverse specialities may also be difficult to assess when nurses are dealing with such a range of patients, but competence in basic care should be an essential part of any nurse’s ability. Communication is one of the fundamental qualities for ensuring successful caring relationships and is vital for effective team working, with listening being a skill so often missed. Staff need to be supported to develop their self-awareness and how they impact on the team
British Journal of Nursing, 2013 (Urology Supplement), Vol 23, No 9
around them. They need to be given the courage to speak out if they feel care is not being given according to the principles above. A level of commitment is expected when caring for patients and is necessary when developing services to improve patient care and experience but nurses also need to be committed to take pride in themselves and what they do as even when working individually, every contribution to the patient pathway matters. Nursing staff therefore need to feel supported in their role as their job satisfaction is directly related to patient satisfaction (West and Dawson, 2013). Annual appraisals must be performed correctly to ensure high staff engagement. If a nurse is given clear, challenging objectives, knows his or her role and responsibilities within the team, and is encouraged to engage in decision-making, this can leave them feeling valued and respected by their manager and organisation as a whole. The focus must always be on the best care for the patient at all times, and a nurse who is able to look after patients belonging to one or two subspecialities such as urology and ear, nose and throat will know that his or her individual responsibilities along with the team values will be able to deliver care to a far higher standard. It is therefore essential that service managers invest time and money in their ward managers and team leaders to allow them to develop their teams effectively. This will improve the quality and outcomes of patient care. I will finish with the opening few lines from the 6Cs executive summary leaflet (NHS England, 2012) as it is a statement we need to remember every day when caring for our patients: ‘To be a nurse, a midwife or member of care staff is an extraordinary role. What we do every day has a deep importance. We are at the heart of how people in this country keep themselves independent, healthy and BJN well for longer.’ NHS England (2012) Our Culture of Compassionate Care. http://tinyurl. com/ok9gyge (accessed 30 April 2014) NHS England (2013) The NHS Constitution.The NHS belongs to us all. http://tinyurl.com/c9qmsac (accessed 28 April 2014) NHS staff survey (2013) www.nhsstaffsurveys.com (accessed 22 April 2014) Francis R (2013) Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. Executive Summary. http://tinyurl.com/bkgyem7 (accessed 18 April 2014) West M, Dawson J (2013) NHS Staff Management and Health Service Quality. Executive summary. http://tinyurl.com/olqo3fh (accessed 28 April 2014)
Susan Thompson
Specialist Urology Nurse Practitioner Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
S3
British Journal of Nursing. Downloaded from magonlinelibrary.com by 165.123.034.086 on December 1, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights reserved.
